The Book
by PadfootsGirlxxx
Summary: Petunia gives Lily a series of books called 'Harry Potter' as a congratulations gift for getting Head Girl. Read as Lily, Alice, Frank and the Marauders (minus Peter) read the series, learning secrets of the future. James/Lily Alice/Frank
1. Presents

Petunia Evans let out an exasperated sigh as she walked into Keneeley's bookshop.

Her mother Maria Rose Evans had insisted on Petunia buying a celebratory present for her sister Lily, who was recently named Head Girl of Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

"Freak" she muttered under her breath as she started to walk towards the direction of the help desk.

"Hi, I was wondering wether you had any books on Wizards and Witches and what-not?" She asked the assistants whose name read 'Peeta' as nicely as possible, trying to hide the hatred and disgust from her tone as she said the words.

"Yes actually, there is a new series that has just come out called 'Harry Potter'. It's a seven book series but we currently have a 7 for the price of 5 deal. Would you be interested?" He asked smiling helpfully at her. He reminded her of one of those disgusted puppy dog creatures that followed there masters around everywhere, trying to please.

"Yeah, sure, whatever" she replied taking the stack of seven books from the puppy dog man, giving him one last odd look, before walking quickly towards the register.

She didn't want to spend any more time in here shopping for the freak then necessary.

"Thanks Mum!" said Lily as she examined the beautifully made emerald green charm bracelet.

"Freak, Present" snapped Petunia throwing Lily the Keneeley's shopping bag.

"Oh, thanks Petunia, you didn't have to get me anything!" protested Lily trying to sound as pleasant as possible.

"Oh, I didn't. Mum payed me _£50 _to buy you one." Petunia replied chewing her gum loudly as she sat cross-legged on the brown tweed couch texting her pig boyfriend, Vernon Dursley. Vernon of course wasn't an actual pig, though he acted like one and looked as if he had eaten about 30.

"Well, thanks any way" Said Lily smiling as she opened the bag to find the seven Harry Potter books. "Harry Potter?"

"I hear there very popular with Muggle teens now-a-days" said Maria Evans trying to do Petunia's gift justice.

But just the title managed to make Lily's blood boil.

Harry POTTER!

Potter...

The most arrogant, confident, rude, horrible, inhuman, daft, heart breaking, pranking, toerag that has ever lived!

But this book wasn't about Potter.

It was about a Harry.

She tried to remind herself.

She wondered whether Petunia had picked this gift purposely to make her blood temperature rise dramatically or to cause her pain, or wether it was just her horrible luck.

She brushed that tiny comment aside as she smiled widely and thanked her parents and sister (but she didn't listen (as usual)) yet again for her gifts.

How much damage could one series of books do?

**OK, Its not perfect but I will get better!**

**Hopefully!**

**Just wanted to wish my bestest best friends ever Jinx (MissGothic KatGirl) (May 16****th****) and Katherine (SugarAndSpice1888) (May 28****th****) **

**Who are both turning 14! **

**Happy Birthday!**

**So... HAPPY BIRTHDAY!**

**LOVE YOU GUYS!**

**YOUR AWESOME!**

**: )**

**Please Review or Private message or both if you have any constructive critisism or praise or random comments or well... ANYTHING!**

**Just press the little blue button that reads 'submit a review'!**

**Thanks again for reading!**

**Happy FanFictioning**

**LilyLovesJamesxxx**

**(just to let you know i recently changed my name from MissGarcia-Schmidt-Maslowluver to LilyLovesJamesxxx so if any of you are confused i hope i cleared that up for you!)**


	2. Puppy Dog Eyes

It wasn't till the Christmas holidays that Lily even contemplated reading the books Petunia had given her.

Lily had decided not to come home over the holidays as they would be spending it planning Petunia's wedding with the Dursley's. Lily's to-be in-laws. Over weight, pigs who had no respect for others and least of all her.

So Lily was stuck at Hogwarts for the Christmas holidays which sounded fun until she found out that Potter was staying to 'for fill his duty as Head Boy' and of course if James was staying so would the rest of the Marauders.(Except Peter whose Mother fell ill and he had to go see her for the holidays)

Of course Pot-James (he asked her to call him that) hadn't been AS  annoying or immature as usual. In fact he was quite mature about his duty as Head except when it came to mean Slytherins, Quidditch and Marauder's Night Out (A day once a month when Remus is away when Peter, Bl-Sirius and Pot-James snuck out to Hogsmede [which in her opinion wasn't exactly fair but Remus didn't mind])

But Lily didn't think she could stand a whole three weeks in the Gryffindor common room with only the Marauders as no one (not even her best friends Hesita, Emmeline or Marlene were staying) (Her friend Alice was but so was Alice's boyfriend Frank so she decided not to bother them) was staying for Christmas from Gryffindor except them. In fact the only other people that were staying were the majority of the Slytherins. So she decided she would spend the majority of her holidays in the common room.

"It would be something to read other then text books?" suggested Lily as she dug the Keeneley's book bag out from the bottom of her trunk. She grabbed the first book "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's stone" she read aloud. Hmmm.. I wonder what the Philosopher's stone is.

She settled down on her bed and was about to begin the book when she felt a sharp gust of cold wind fill the normally cosy girls dormitory. Maybe it was just the fact that she was cold but Lily decided to read her book in the common room near the warm fire instead.

She climbed down the stairs and arrived in the deep red and gold common room. Which was already inhabited by Alice and Frank who were playing Exploding Snap. She seated her self in her favourite reading armchair right infrnt of the dancing orange flames and opened the book.

"1. The Boy Who Lived" She read under her breath.

Hmmm... The boy who lived...

She was about to continue with the story when a large slam of the common room door made her jump.

The Marauders (Minus Peter) were laughing and giggling in hysterics at something.

"Oh, Hey Lily" said James trying to cover up the fact he had been giggling like a little girl just moments ago.

Lily smiled and shook her head fondly.

"Whatcha reading" he asked seating himself on the chair next to her.

"James? Do you have a Harry in your family?" she asked. Wondering whether Harry was a relative of James'.

"Since when have you been interested in _James'_ family?" asked Alice teasingly as she settled down in a loveseat near Lily, Frank sitting next to her.

Lily brushed off Alice's question and continued to look at James

"Um... No I don't think so, my dad's called Harrison and my great uncle is Harvey but no Harry, why?" He said as he put on his attempt at an intellegent face which made Lily giggle.

"Oh, my sister bought me a series of muggle books called Harry Potter. I thought he might be a relative of yours." She replied before turning her head back down to the book.

"Ooh! I want to read about Prongs' relative!" squealed Sirius as he grapped the book out of Lily's hands and tried to read it. He squinted and then put on a very confused face. "Its in giberish!"

"Your holding it upside down Black! And it's my book!" Lily snapped as she snatched the book out of Sirius' hands and but her nose back down into her book.

"Well, why don't we read it together!" suggested Remus

"You don't mind do you Lily?" asked James as the group of 5 did there best puppy dog eyes. Frank's was so horrible it almost made her laugh, Alice's was good but still not convincing, Remus' was convincing-ish, James was about to work when she looked at Sirius who's was so convincing that if he was covered in black fur and had a tail he could pass off as a dog.

"Fine! Just no more puppy dog eyes!" Lily cried throwing her hands in the air.

"I think we've found her weekness" whispered Sirius to James who grinned at Sirius

Remus and Sirius pulled over two chairs so they were in 5-sided (because Alice and Frank were sharing a seat) circlish thing.

"Who want's to read first?" asked Lily holding out the book

"I will!" voulenteered Remus.

Lily handed him the bookand he began to read;

"**1. The Boy Who Lived..."**


	3. The Boy Who Lived

"**1. The Boy Who Lived**

**Mr and Mrs Dursley, "**

Lily's eyes opened at that name.

Dursley? As in Vernon Dursley? Her Sister's Fiance?

"**of number four Privet Drive, were very proud to say they were perfectly normal, thank you very much. They were the last people you'd expect to be involved in anything strange or mysterious, because they just didn't hold with such nonsense."**

"NO NONSENSE!?" cried Sirius as he began dramatically gasping for breath.

Causing James, Frank and Remus to giggle childishly and Lily and Alice to roll their eyes.

"**Mr Dursley was the director of a firm called Grunnings, which made drills. He was a big, beefy man with hardly any neck, although he did have a vey large moustache."**

"That sounds like him!" cried Lily, before covering her mouth with her hands. James, Frank, Remus and Sirius gave her confused looks and Alice gasped.

Lily and Alice had long befre mastered the fine art of non-verbak speech.

In which they communicated through there eyes.

_**{*AUTHORS TIP*Alice is underlined and Lily is underlined, Italic}**_

"Dursley as in Vermin?"

"_I think so! I doubt Vermin's sister Marge is getting married any time soon so it must be him!"_

"Isn't he marrying your sister!"

"_Yep! What do you think their doing in this story!?"_

"Maybe it's one of those books that tells the future!"

"_Well, Duh!"_

"That's so cool!"

"_What do you think will happen to us in the future!?"_

"You. Lilian. Will marry Potter and have seven little black haired green eyed smart, crazy kids running around"

"_Yeah right!?"_

"YOU WILL!"

"_Are you ok? Cause you sound like Potter?"_

"You mean JAMES!"

"_Just get back to the book"_

Alice signalled for Remus to continue

"**Mrs Dursley was thin and blond and had nearly twice the usual amount of neck, which came in very useful as she spent so much of her time cranning over garden fences, spying on her neighbours."**

"No! Petunia!" gasped Lily, her mouth forming a small 'O'

Alice, who had met Lily's sister and fiance numerous times before gaped also.

"Ok is there something were missing here?" asked Sirius rudely who was slapped in respnse by both James and Remus.

"Lily?" asked James gently

She shook her head "Petunia, is my older sister, she is, well... she doesn't approve of magic at all. She is horrid. She is getting married to a guy named Vernon Dursley in April. That's why I didn't go home this Christmas. She didn't want me to, and I really don't want to be in the middle of wedding plans."

"What's she doing in a book about the Potter's ?" asked Sirius loudly

Lily looked at Alice who shrugged

" **The Dursleys had a small son called Dudley"**

Sirius burst out laughing "Dudley?!" James, Lily, Alice, Frank and Remus rolled there eyes at his immaturity

" **and in their opinion there was no finer boy anywhere.**

**The Dursleys had everything they wanted, but they also had a secret, and their greatest fear was that somebody would discover it."**

Lily leaned in automattically, she really wanted to know her sisters secret so she had something interesting to mention in her weding speach.

"**They didn't think they could bear it if anyone found out about the Potters."**

"Why would Petunia know anything about the Potter's?" asked Lily

"And whats's wrong with the Potter's?" asked Sirius

"Aside from the obvious?" asked Lily jokingly earning herself a giggle from Alice and a friendly punch on the sholder form James

"**Mrs Potter was Mrs Dursley's sister,"**

"WHAT!" screeched Lily and James jumping out of their seats. One with Horror the other with Glee.

"I?! Marry Him?! Are you sure you didn't write this book Potter? Or charm it while i wasn't looking?" James shook his head as did Sirius and Remus. Lily sighed before slomping down into her chair

"When's this book set?" Lily asked

"In three years" replied Remus waiting for her to eurupt.

"In THREE BLOODY YEARS!" She screamed at Remus. Alice jumped up and tried to comfort her angry/annoyed/disbelieving friend.

"Hey on the brightside Lily, you get to be my sister!" said Sirius beaming with excitement

"How is that a BLODDY BRIGHT SIDE!? cried Lily

Remus began to read again before someone lost a body part or worse.

" **but they hadn't met for several years; in fact, Mrs Dursley pretended she didn't have a sister, "**

"No offence Lily, But I hate your sister! How can she not want to have yo as a sister?!" cried Sirius

"Thanks Sirius" said Lily as she got up and hugged Sirius. James of course shooting daggers at the sight of his best friend hugging his future wife.

"**becuse her sister and her good-for-nothing husband"**

"I'm sure Potter is good for something! It just hasn't been invented!" said Lily jokingly. Recieving a smile from James who seemed to have missed the insult her sister had given him.

" **were as unDursleyish as it was possible to be."**

"Not a word!" said Remus sing-songily interupting himself.

" **The Dursleys shuddered to think what there neighbors would say if the Potters arrived in there street. The Dursleys knew the Potters had a small son too, but they had never seen him. This boy was another good reason to keep the Potters away; they didn't was Dudley mixing with a child like that."**

"A child like what!?" asked James angrily

"James! She just means a child who's part of the magical world! She doesn't approve!" protested Lily

James sat down and his posture calmed noticeably even though he was still cussing under his breath.

"**When Mr and Mrs Dursley woke up on a dull, grey Tuesday our story starts, there was nothing about the cloudy sky outside that suggests that strange and mysterious things would soon be happening all over the country. Mr Dursley hummed as he picked out the most boring tie for work"**

"Why the hell would you pick your most boring tie?!" asked Sirius

" **and Mrs Dursley gossiped away happily as she wrestled a screaming Dudley into his high chair. None of them noticed a large tawny owl flutter past the window. At half past eight, Mr Dursley picked up his briefcase, pecked Mrs Dursley on the cheek and tried to kiss Dudley goodbye but missed, because Dudley was now throwing a tantrum and throwing cereal at the walls. 'Little tyke' chortled Mr Dursley as he left the house."**

"He actually supported this behaviour!"said Alice in disgust.

Though she was a short, petite blond who was kind to (almost) everyone she met she still hated, (well she was incapable of hating anyone, really,really REALLY disliked) Vermin Dursley.

She had always thought that Vernon would make a horrible father and this just proved it.

" **He got into his car and backed out of number four Privet Drive.**

**It was on the corner of the street that he noticed the first sign of something being peculiar- a cat reading a map."**

"McGonagall" sang James

"Yeah, only cat animagus' are smart enough to read maps, there normally fithy, brainless creatures" snarled Remus because as a wolf which is canine he absolutally hated cats

"Hey! I own a kitten! TIGER!" cried Lily. She watched Remus' horror and disgust as a tiny black and orange kitten approached and jumped into Lily's arms, snarling at Remus who was practically snarling back.

"**For a second, Mr Dursley didn't realise what he'd seen- then he jerked his head around to look again. There was a tabby cat standing on the corner of Privet Drive, but not a map in sight. What could he have been thinking of? It must have been a trick of light. Mr Dursley blinked and stared at the cat. It stared back. As Mr Dursley turned around the corner he watched the cat in his rearview mirror. It was now reading the sign that read **_** Privet Drive-**_** no, **_** looking **_** at the sign; cats couldn't read maps or signs. Mr Dursley gave himself a little shake and put the cat out of his mind. As he drove towards town he thought of nothing except a large order of drills he was hoping to get that day."**

" He can't think about two things at the same time!? What a dumb blonde!"

"SIRIUS!" squealed Alice, gesturing to her pure blonde bob.

"**But on the edge of town, drills were driven completely out of his mind by something else. As he sat in the usual morning traffic jam, he couldn't help noticing there seemed to be a lot of strangely dressed people around. People in cloaks."**

"What's wrong with cloaks!?" asked Sirius as he jumped out of his arm chair, clearly offended and worried that he was missing some sort of fashion memo.

"Muggles don't wear cloaks Sirius, they wear normal clothes!" explained Lily

"Oh..." He murmered as he sunk back into his chair, red in the cheeks.

" **Mr Dursley couldn't bear people that dressed up in funny clothes- the get-ups you saw on young people! He supposed it was some stupid new fashion. He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel and his eyes fell on a huddle of those weirdos standing quite close by. They were whispering excitedly together. Mr Dursley was quite enraged to see some of them wern't young at all; why, that man had to be older then he was, and was wearing an emerald-green cloak! The nerve of him!"**

"Hey! That's my favourite colour of cloak" cried Lily

"**But then it struck Mr Dursley that this was probably some sort of silly stunt- these people were obviously collecting money for something... yes, that would be it. The traffic moved on, and a few minutes later, Mr Dursley arrived in the Grunnings car park, his mind back on drills.**

**Mr Dursley always sat with his back to the window in his office on the ninth floor. If he hadn't, he might have found it harder to concentrate on drills that morning. **_**He**_** didn't see the owls swooping past in broad daylight, though people down in the street did; they pointed and gazed open-mouthed as owl after owl sped overhead."**

" Something big must have happened! We never send owls in such big numbers normally!" said Remus

" **Most of them had never seen an owl even at nighttime. Mr Dursley, however had a perfectly normal, owl-free morning. He yelled at five different people. He made several important telephone calls and shouted a bit more."**

"He's horrid!" cried Alice.

Lily nodded sadly thinking about the life her sister would have to endure.

"**He was in a good mood until lunchtime, when he thought he'd stretch his legs and walk across the road to by a bun from the bakers' opposite.**

**He'd forgotten all about the people in cloaks until he passed a group of them next to the baker's. He eyed them angrily as he passed. He didn't know why but they made him uneasy. This lot were whispering excitedly , too, and he couldn't see a single collecting tin. It was on his way back past them, clutching a large donut in a bag, that he caught a few words of what they were saying.**

"**The Potters, that's right, that's what I heard—"**

"**- yes, their son, Harry -" "**

"What happened to my son?" asked Lily anxiously. Though he wasn't born yet, Lily still felt a lot of responsibility for the child.

"**Mr Dursley stopped dead. Fear flooded him. He looked back at the whisperers as if he wanted to say something to them, but thought better of it. He dashed back across the road, hurried up to his office, snapped at his secretary not to disturb, seized the telephone and had almost finished dialing his home number when he changed his mind. He put the reciever back down and stroked his mostache, thinking...no, he was being stupid. Potter wasn't such an unusual name."**

" It is in the Wizarding world!" said James

"**He was sure there were lots of people called Potter who had a son called Harry. Come to think of it, he wasn't even sure his nephew was called Harry. He'd never even seen the boy. It might have been Harvey. Or Harold."**

" He doesn't even know his own nephew's name! That's horrible!" Alice cried

"I would never name my son _Harvey_" exclaimed James in disgust

"Or _Harold_" exclaimed Lily

"Thats my Dads name!" Protested James

"Oh"

" **There was no point in worrying Mrs Dursley. She always got so upset at anymention of her sister. He didn't blame her- if he'd had a sister like that..."**

"There is nothing wrong with Lily!" cried Sirius

Lily smiled and brushed off Vermin's mean comment.

"**but all the same, those people in cloaks...**

**He found it alot harder to concentrate on drills that afternoon and when he left the building at 5:00, he was still so worried that he walked straight into someone just outside the door.**

"**Sorry," he grunted,"**

"THAT WORD EXISTS IN HIS VOCABULARY?!" screamed Lily

Sirius shot her a weird look, she blushed and sunk into her seat.

" **as the tiny old man stumbled and almost fell. It was a few seconds before Mr Dursley realised that the man was wearing a violet cloak. He didn't seem at all upset at being almost knocked to the ground. On the contrary, his face split into a wide smile and he said in a squeaky voice that made passers-by stare: ' Dont be sorry, my dear sir, for nothing could upset me today! Rejoice, for You-Know-Who has gone at last! Even Muggles like yourself should be celebrating, this happy,, happy day!'"**

" He's Gone?" breathed Lily

"He's Gone!" cried Sirius

" HE's GONE!" cried James happily

It took a while for everybody to calm down but even after that they were still smiling. All this fighting, murder and betrayl would be over in three years

"We shall go get celebratratory refereshments from the Kitchens" said Remus.

"We have Kitchens?" asked Alice

James, Sirius and Remus gasped dramatically.

"Yes!" cried Sirius

"And we are going to take you to them" added Remus before grabbing Alice's hand and dragged her out of the common room. Sirius and Frank following behind.

An awkward silence filled the room with the absense of the others.

"He's gone!" said Lily once more.

James smiled and nodded. He lifted her up and spun her around he room. He was about to put her down when he tripped and they fell onto the deep red and gold carpet. James ontop of Lily. James quickly mumbled apologies and tried to get up but his hand narrowly missed the fire, he yellped and slid it away, causng him once again to land ontop of her, there faces were just millimeter's apart when Sirius, Frank, Alice and Remus burst in. James and Lily jumped up instantly.

"Oh..." breathed Sirius. Frank and Remus' mouthes opened to a slight 'O' and Alice was smiling knowingly. (Alice often considered herself a matchmaker, she had so far predicted the relationships of Bellatrix Black and Rolphodus Lestrange, Narcissa Black and Lucius Malfoy, Herself and Frank Longbottom, and was still fully convinced in James Potter and Lily Evans.)

"Umm... Here's your butterbeer" said Sirius as he passed Lily her bottle which she took before sitting down ignoring James' eyes and Sirius and Remus' awkwardness and Alice's smiles.

"Ok... Um... I'm gunna read now." Said Remus picking up the book.

"**And the old man hugged Mr Dursley around the middle and walked off."**

"His arms fit?" asked Alice trying to lighten the tense mood in the room, but failed.

"**Mr Dursley stood rooted to spot. He had been hugged by a complete stranger. He also thought he had been called a Muggle, whatever that was. He was rattled. He hurried to his car and set off home, hoping he was imagining thing, which he had never hoped before, because he didn't approve of imagination"**

"WHAT SORT OF A RETARTED PERSON DOESN'T APPROVE OF IMAGINATION!?" yelled Sirius

"THE HORROR!" Cried James whilst Sirius embraced him, his body shaking with fake sobs.

"**As he pulled into the driveway of number four Privet Drive, the first thing he saw-and it didn't improve his mood- was the tabby cat he'd spotted this morning. It was now sitting on his garden wall. He was sure it was the same one; it had the same markings around it's eyes."**

"McGonagall!" said Siruis, showing off the fact that he had worked out who the cat was.

"Oh, Well done Sirius!" said Lily sarcastically causing Remus and James to giggle silently and Sirius, who hadn't noted the sarcasm to beam, showing off his white teeth.

"**Shoo!" said Mr Dursley loudly**

**The cat didn't move. It just gave him a stern look."**

"Poor Bloke" said Remus

"Why?! He's horrible!" protested Lily, amazed that anyone could feel sympathy for the horrible creature that was Vernon Dursley.

"You, have never been at the recieving end of one of McGonagall's sten looks! They could kill" explained James.

Lily blushed and looked away.

Remus noticed the awkwardness in the situation and kept reading.

" **Was this normal cat behavior?, Mr Dursley wondered. Trying to pull himself together, he let himself into the house. He was still determined not to mention anything to his wife.**

**Mrs Dursley had a nice, normal day. She told him over dinner about Mrs Next-Door's problems with her daughter and how Dudley had learnt a new word ('Shan't!')."**

"Horrid Father, Horrid Mother, Horrid Child" muttered Lily under her breath

" **Mr Dursley tried to act normally . When Dudley had been put to bed, he went into the living room in time to catch the last report of the evening news.**

'**And finally bird-watchers everywhere have reported that the nation's owls have been behaving unusually today. Although owls usually hunt at night and are hardly ever seen in daylight, there have been hundreds of sightings of these birds flying in every direction since sunrise. Experts are unable to explain why the owls have suddenly changed there sleeping pattern.' The news reader allowed himself to grin ' Most mysterious. And now, over to Jim McGuffin with the weather. Going to be any more showers of owls tonight, Jim?'**

' **Well, Ted,' said the weatherman, 'I don't know about that, but it's not only the owls that have been acting oddly today. Viewers as far apart as Kent, Yorkshire and Dundee have been phoning in telling me that instead of the I promised yesterday, they've had a downpour of shooting stars! Perhaps people have been celebrating Bonfire Night early – it's not till next week, folks! But I can promise a wet night tonight' "**

"Shooting stars! Deadlus Diggle" answered James

"Why?" asked Remus

"Who else would be stupid enough to set off shooting stars?" asked James causing Sirius to nod, Remus to give an aproving look and Lily to roll her eyes in a dissapointed manner though her eyes glistened with humor.

"**Mr. Dursley sat frozen in his armchair. Shooting stars all over Britain? Owls flying by daylight? Mysterious people in cloaks all over the place? And a whisper, a whisper about the Potters…**

**Mrs. Dursley came into the living room carrying two cups of tea. It was no good. He'd have to say something to her. He cleared his throat nervously. "Er — Petunia, dear — you haven't heard from your sister lately, have you?"**

**As he had expected, Mrs. Dursley looked shocked and angry. After all, they normally pretended she didn't have a sister."**

Remus, James and Sirius breathed in sharply.

**"****No," she said sharply. "Why?"**

**"****Funny stuff on the news," Mr. Dursley mumbled. "Owls… shooting stars… and there were a lot of funny-looking people in town today…"**

**"**_**So?**_**" snapped Mrs. Dursley.**

**"****Well, I just thought… maybe… it was something to do with… you know…**_**her**___**crowd."**

"_Her CROWD!_ WHAT THE HELL IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN!?" screamed Sirius offended

"He means a wizard Padfoot" explained Remus, snarling slightly

"WHATS THE HELL IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN!?" Yelled Frank

"He hates us" whsipered Lily, earning many sympathetic smiles

"**Mrs. Dursley sipped her tea through pursed lips. Mr. Dursley wondered whether he dared tell her he'd heard the name "Potter." He decided he didn't dare. Instead he said, as casually as he could, "Their son — he'd be about Dudley's age now, wouldn't he?"**

**"****I suppose so," said Mrs. Dursley stiffly.**

**"****What's his name again? Howard, isn't it?"**

**"****Harry. Nasty, common name, if you ask me."**

"I think Harry is a lovely name" protested Lily.

The Marauders, Alice and Frank nodded in agreement

"**Oh, yes," said Mr. Dursley, his heart sinking horribly. "Yes, I quite agree."**

**He didn't say another word on the subject as they went upstairs to bed. While Mrs. Dursley was in the bathroom, Mr. Dursley crept to the bedroom window and peered down into the front garden. The cat was still there. It was staring down Privet Drive as though it were waiting for something.**

**Was he imagining things? Could all this have anything to do with the Potters? If it did… if it got out that they were related to a pair of — well, he didn't think he could bear it."**

Snarls and mutters of possible pranks could be heard across the room

"**The Dursleys got into bed. Mrs. Dursley fell asleep quickly but Mr. Dursley lay awake, turning it all over in his mind. His last, comforting thought before he fell asleep was that even if the Potters**_**were**___**involved, there was no reason for them to come near him and Mrs. Dursley. The Potters knew very well what he and Petunia thought about them and their kind… He couldn't see how he and Petunia could get mixed up in anything that might be going on — he yawned and turned over — it couldn't affect**_**them**_**…"**

"Famous last words!" warned Remus, the others nodding in agreement, though silently worried about why the Dursley's would be effected by anything to do with the Wizarding world.

"**How very wrong he was."**

"Knew it!" exclaimed Remus

"Why would Harry affect them?" asked Sirius

Alice shrugged

"**Mr. Dursley might have been drifting into an uneasy sleep, but the cat on the wall outside was showing no sign of sleepiness. It was sitting as still as a statue, its eyes fixed unblinkingly on the far corner of Privet Drive. It didn't so much as quiver when a car door slammed on the next street, nor when two owls swooped overhead. In fact, it was nearly midnight before the cat moved at all."**

"God is she a freaking statue?" asked Alice earning a few giggles

"**A man appeared on the corner the cat had been watching, appeared so suddenly and silently you'd have thought he'd just popped out of the ground. The cat's tail twitched and its eyes narrowed.**

**Nothing like this man had ever been seen on Privet Drive. He was tall, thin, and very old, judging by the silver of his hair and beard, which were both long enough to tuck into his belt. He was wearing long robes, a purple cloak that swept the ground, and high-heeled, buckled boots. His blue eyes were light, bright, and sparkling behind half-moon spectacles and his nose was very long and crooked, as though it had been broken at least twice."**

"DUMBLEDORE!" The teens cried together, before looking at one another and bursting into giggles.

"**This man's name was Albus Dumbledore.**

**Albus Dumbledore didn't seem to realize that he had just arrived in a street where everything from his name to his boots was unwelcome. He was busy rummaging in his cloak, looking for something. But he did seem to realize he was being watched, because he looked up suddenly at the cat, which was still staring at him from the other end of the street. For some reason, the sight of the cat seemed to amuse him. He chuckled and muttered, "I should have known."**

"MCGONAGALL!" screamed James and Sirius jumping up and down.

"CHILDREN!" screamed Alice and Lily, causeing the boys to sit down looking like children who had been caught steling cookies from the cookie jar.

"**He found what he was looking for in his inside pocket. It seemed to be a silver cigarette lighter. He flicked it open, held it up in the air, and clicked it. The nearest street lamp went out with a little pop."**

"I WANT ONE!" cried Remus

"What! I thought you were the sensible one!" cried Lily

Remus shrugged "It sounds cool"

Alice sighed in exasperation.

"**He clicked it again — the next lamp flickered into darkness. Twelve times he clicked the Put-Outer, until the only lights left on the whole street were two tiny pinpricks in the distance, which were the eyes of the cat watching him. If anyone looked out of their window now, even beady-eyed Mrs. Dursley, they wouldn't be able to see anything that was happening down on the pavement. Dumbledore slipped the Put-Outer back inside his cloak and set off down the street toward number four, where he sat down on the wall next to the cat. He didn't look at it, but after a moment he spoke to it.**

**"****Fancy seeing you here, Professor McGonagall."**

"I told you! I told you it was her! Oh Yeah! Uh Huh! Im AWESOME!" cried Sirius as he jumped on the furniture with glee.

"Yes congradulations Sirius!" replied Alice sarcastically, causing the others to giggle.

"**He turned to smile at the tabby, but it had gone. Instead he was smiling at a rather severe-looking woman who was wearing square glasses exactly the shape of the markings the cat had had around its eyes. She, too, was wearing a cloak, an emerald one."**

"AHHHHH!" cried Sirius jumping onto James' lap

"What the hell was that for?" groaned James in pain.

"SLYTHERIN COLOURS!" he cried

"AHHHHHH!" they both screamed

"Idiots" muttered Remus

"**Her black hair was drawn into a tight bun. She looked distinctly ruffled. "How did you know it was me?" she asked.**

**"****My dear Professor, I've never seen a cat sit so stiffly."**

**"****You'd be stiff if you'd been sitting on a brick wall all day," said Professor McGonagall.**

**"****All day? When you could have been celebrating? I must have passed a dozen feasts and parties on my way here."**

**Professor McGonagall sniffed angrily.**

**"****Oh yes, everyone's celebrating, all right," she said impatiently. "You'd think they'd be a bit more careful, but no — even the Muggles have noticed something's going on. It was on their news."**

**She jerked her head back at the Dursleys' dark living-room window. "I heard it. Flocks of owls… shooting stars… Well, they're not completely stupid. They were bound to notice something. Shooting stars down in Kent — I'll bet that was Dedalus Diggle. He never had much sense."**

"I told you! I told you it was him! Oh Yeah! Uh Huh! Im AWESOME!" cried James.

"I now understand why they are best friends" muttered Alice to Lily causinng her to grin and Remus who had picked it up with his werewolf hearing started chuckling.

**"****You can't blame them," said Dumbledore gently. "We've had precious little to celebrate for eleven years."**

**"****I know that," said Professor McGonagall irritably. "But that's no reason to lose our heads. People are being downright careless, out on the streets in broad daylight, not even dressed in Muggle clothes, swapping rumors."**

**She threw a sharp, sideways glance at Dumbledore here, as though hoping he was going to tell her something, but he didn't, so she went on. "A fine thing it would be if, on the very day You-Know-Who seems to have disappeared at last, the Muggles found out about us all. I suppose he really**_**has**___**gone, Dumbledore?"**

**"****It certainly seems so," said Dumbledore.**

**"****We have much to be thankful for. Would you care for a lemon drop?"**

"I love those!" cried Alice

**"****A**_**what**_**?"**

**"****A lemon drop. They're a kind of Muggle sweet I'm rather fond of."**

**"****No, thank you," said Professor McGonagall coldly, as though she didn't think this was the moment for lemon drops. "As I say, even if You-Know-Who**_**has**___**gone —"**

**"****My dear Professor, surely a sensible person like yourself can call him by his name? All this 'You-Know-Who' nonsense — for eleven years I have been trying to persuade people to call him by his proper name:**_**Voldemort**_**."**

"Fear of the name only increases fear of the thing itself" quoted everyone

"**Professor McGonagall flinched, but Dumbledore, who was unsticking two lemon drops, seemed not to notice. "It all gets so confusing if we keep saying 'You-Know-Who.' I have never seen any reason to be frightened of saying Voldemort's name." "I know you haven't," said Professor McGonagall, sounding half exasperated, half admiring. "But you're different. Everyone knows you're the only one You-Know- oh, all right,**_**Voldemort**_**, was frightened of."**

**"****You flatter me," said Dumbledore calmly. "Voldemort had powers I will never have."**

"Only cause you too noble to use them!" muttered Frank

**"****Only because you're too — well —**_**noble**___**to use them."**

"AHHHH!" cried Alice

"What?" asked Sirius

"IM DATING A MINI MCGONAGALL!"

"AHHHHH!"

**"****It's lucky it's dark. I haven't blushed so much since Madam Pomfrey told me she liked my new earmuffs."**

"Eww"cried Lily "Too much information" as everyone else started gagging

"**Professor McGonagall shot a sharp look at Dumbledore and said, "The owls are nothing next to the**_**rumors**___**that are flying around. You know what they're saying? About why he's disappeared? About what finally stopped him?"**

**It seemed that Professor McGonagall had reached the point she was most anxious to discuss, the real reason she had been waiting on a cold, hard wall all day, for neither as a cat nor as a woman had she fixed Dumbledore with such a piercing stare as she did now. It was plain that whatever "everyone" was saying, she was not going to believe it until Dumbledore told her it was true. Dumbledore, however, was choosing another lemon drop and did not answer.**

**"****What they're**_**saying**_**," she pressed on, "is that last night Voldemort turned up in Godric's Hollow. He went to find the Potters."**

"No" muttered Lily,James and Sirius

"**The rumor is that Lily and James Potter are — are — that they're —**_**dead**_**."**

"No!" cried Sirius, tears starting to fall down his face. Crying more then James and Lily put together.

"Siri-" James began as he pulled Sirius into a hug.

"I can't do it...i can't live without you" He sobbed.

"You won't have to... We will change things... we have to"

"I love you Jay"

"I love you too Siri"

Lily looked at the scene in front of her in shock.

They really were brothers in every thing but blood.

Alice leapt up to embrace Lily, unshead tears in her eyes.

They would change this. They had to.

"**Dumbledore bowed his head. Professor McGonagall gasped.**

**"****Lily and James… I can't believe it… I didn't want to believe it… Oh, Albus…""**

"She cares?" muttered James half heartedly... still embracing Sirius whose face was in the crook of his neck.

"**Dumbledore reached out and patted her on the shoulder. "I know… I know…" he said heavily.**

**Professor McGonagall's voice trembled as she went on. "That's not all. They're saying he tried to kill the Potter's son, Harry."**

"No" cried Lily leaning into Alice's shoulder.

"**But he couldn't. He couldn't kill that little boy. No one knows why, or how, but they're saying that when he couldn't kill Harry Potter, Voldemort's power somehow broke — and that's why he's gone."**

"My son killed Voldemort?!" asked Lily and James in synchrony.

"Your son is awesome!" cried Frank, Remus and Sirius (slightly teary)

"**Dumbledore nodded glumly.**

**"****It's — it's**_**true**_**?" faltered Professor McGonagall. "After all he's done… all the people he's killed… he couldn't kill a little boy? It's just astounding… of all the things to stop him… but how in the name of heaven did Harry survive?"**

**"****We can only guess." said Dumbledore. "We may never know."**

"Cryptic as always" murmured Remus

"**Professor McGonagall pulled out a lace handkerchief and dabbed at her eyes beneath her spectacles. Dumbledore gave a great sniff as he took a golden watch from his pocket and examined it. It was a very odd watch. It had twelve hands but no numbers; instead, little planets were moving around the edge. It must have made sense to Dumbledore, though, because he put it back in his pocket and said, "Hagrid's late. I suppose it was he who told you I'd be here, by the way?"**

**"****Yes," said Professor McGonagall. "And I don't suppose you're going to tell me**_**why**___**you're here, of all places?"**

**"****I've come to bring Harry to his aunt and uncle. They're the only family he has left now."**

**"****You don't mean – you**_**can't**___**mean the people who live**_**here**_**?" cried Professor McGonagall, jumping to her feet and pointing at number four. "Dumbledore — you can't. I've been watching them all day. You couldn't find two people who are less like us. And they've got this son — I saw him kicking his mother all the way up the street, screaming for sweets. Harry Potter come and live here!""**

"GO MINNIE!" cried Remus and James!

"STAND UP TO EVIL DUMBLES!" yelled Sirius and Frank!

Lily and Alice face palmed...they were such idiots.

**"****It's the best place for him," said Dumbledore firmly. "His aunt and uncle will be able to explain everything to him when he's older. I've written them a letter.""**

"A letter! They cant explain the entire wizarding war in a letter" screached Alice

**"****A letter?" repeated Professor McGonagall faintly, sitting back down on the wall. "Really, Dumbledore, you think you can explain all this in a letter?"**

"AHHHHH!" cried Lily

"What now?" asked Remus

"I'm best friends with a mini McGonagall!"

"AHHHHHH!"

"**These people will never understand him! He'll be famous — a legend — I wouldn't be surprised if today was known as Harry Potter day in the future — there will be books written about Harry — every child in our world will know his name!"**

**"****Exactly." said Dumbledore, looking very seriously over the top of his half-moon glasses. "It would be enough to turn any boy's head. Famous before he can walk and talk! Famous for something he won't even remember! Can you see how much better off he'll be, growing up away from all that until he's ready to take it?"**

**Professor McGonagall opened her mouth, changed her mind, swallowed, and then said, "Yes — yes, you're right, of course. But how is the boy getting here, Dumbledore?" She eyed his cloak suddenly as though she thought he might be hiding Harry underneath it."**

"PERVERT!" cried Sirius

**"****Hagrid's bringing him."**

**"****You think it —**_**wise**___**— to trust Hagrid with something as important as this?"**

"I would trust Hagrid with my life" said James

**"****I would trust Hagrid with my life," said Dumbledore."**

"AHHHH! MINI EVIL DUMBLES!" screamed Sirius

**"****I'm not saying his heart isn't in the right place," said Professor McGonagall grudgingly, "but you can't pretend he's not careless. He does tend to — what was that?"**

**A low rumbling sound had broken the silence around them. It grew steadily louder as they looked up and down the street for some sign of a headlight; it swelled to a roar as they both looked up at the sky — and a huge motorcycle fell out of the air and landed on the road in front of them."**

" I want one!" sighed Sirius with a dreamy look in his eyes.

"**If the motorcycle was huge, it was nothing to the man sitting astride it. He was almost twice as tall as a normal man and at least five times as wide. He looked simply too big to be allowed, and so**_**wild**___**— long tangles of bushy black hair and beard hid most of his face, he had hands the size of trash can lids, and his feet in their leather boots were like baby dolphins. In his vast, muscular arms he was holding a bundle of blankets.**

**"****Hagrid," said Dumbledore, sounding relieved. "At last. And where did you get that motorcycle?"**

**"****Borrowed it, Professor Dumbledore, sir," said the giant, climbing carefully off the motorcycle as he spoke. "Young Sirius Black lent it to me. I've got him, sir.""**

"OH YEAH! Uh Huh! Im AWESOME! I HAVE A MOTERBIKE" yelled Sirius jumping up and down

"Dear Lord, The roads will never be safe again" cried Frank, his hands in the air.

**"****No problems, were there?"**

**"****No, sir — house was almost destroyed, but I got him out all right before the Muggles started swarmin' around. He fell asleep as we was flyin' over Bristol.""**

"IT FLIES! WICKED!" cried Sirius

"I fear the poor birds" murmed Remus, earning slight smiles from Alice and Lily who were cooing over the thought of baby Harry.

"**Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall bent forward over the bundle of blankets. Inside, just visible, was a baby boy, fast asleep. Under a tuft of jet-black hair over his forehead they could see a curiously shaped cut, like a bolt of lightning."**

"Awww!" cooed Alice and Lily

"What is it with women and cooing?" asked Frank earning shrugs from Remus, Sirius and James.

"Whats with the word cooing?" retorted Lily earning more shrugs.

**"****Is that where —?" whispered Professor McGonagall.**

**"****Yes," said Dumbledore. "He'll have that scar forever."**

**"****Couldn't you do something about it, Dumbledore?"**

**"****Even if I could, I wouldn't. Scars can come in handy. I have one myself above my left knee that is a perfect map of the London Underground. Well — give him here, Hagrid — we'd better get this over with."**

"Too much information Dumbles"

**Dumbledore took Harry in his arms and turned toward the Dursleys' house.**

**"****Could I — could I say good-bye to him, sir?" asked Hagrid. He bent his great, shaggy head over Harry and gave him what must have been a very scratchy, whiskery kiss. Then, suddenly, Hagrid let out a howl like a wounded dog.**

**"****Shhh!" hissed Professor McGonagall, "You'll wake the Muggles!"**

**"****S-s-sorry," sobbed Hagrid, taking out a large, spotted handkerchief and burying his face in it. "But I c-c-can't stand it —Lily an' James dead — an' poor little Harry off ter live with Muggles —"**

"Poor Hagrid" sighed James.

**"****Yes, yes, it's all very sad, but get a grip on yourself, Hagrid, or we'll be found," Professor McGonagall whispered, patting Hagrid gingerly on the arm as Dumbledore stepped over the low garden wall and walked to the front door. He laid Harry gently on the doorstep, took a letter out of his cloak, tucked it inside Harry's blankets, and then came back to the other two.**

**For a full minute the three of them stood and looked at the little bundle; Hagrid's shoulders shook, Professor McGonagall blinked furiously, and the twinkling light that usually shone from Dumbledore's eyes seemed to have gone out.**

**"****Well," said Dumbledore finally, "that's that. We've no business staying here. We may as well go and join the celebrations."**

**"****Yeah," said Hagrid in a very muffled voice, "I best get this bike away. G'night, Professor McGonagall — Professor Dumbledore, sir."**

**Wiping his streaming eyes on his jacket sleeve, Hagrid swung himself onto the motorcycle and kicked the engine into life; with a roar it rose into the air and off into the night.**

**"****I shall see you soon, I expect, Professor McGonagall," said Dumbledore, nodding to her. Professor McGonagall blew her nose in reply."**

"I don't think i've ever heard Dumbledore call her 'Professer McGonagall'" said Remus.

Frank nodded.

"**Dumbledore turned and walked back down the street. On the corner he stopped and took out the silver Put-Outer. He clicked it once, and twelve balls of light sped back to their street lamps so that Privet Drive glowed suddenly orange and he could make out a tabby cat slinking around the corner at the other end of the street. He could just see the bundle of blankets on the step of number four.**

**"****Good luck, Harry," he murmured. He turned on his heel and with a swish of his cloak, he was gone."**

"YOU LEFT MY SON ON A DOOR STEP!" screamed Lily

"**A breeze ruffled the neat hedges of Privet Drive, which lay silent and tidy under the inky sky, the very last place you would expect astonishing things to happen. Harry Potter rolled over inside his blankets without waking up. One small hand closed on the letter beside him and he slept on, not knowing he was special, not knowing he was famous, not knowing he would be woken in a few hours' time by Mrs. Dursley's scream as she opened the front door to put out the milk bottles, nor that he would spend the next few weeks being prodded and pinched by his cousin Dudley… He couldn't know that at this very moment, people meeting in secret all over the country were holding up their glasses and saying in hushed voices: "To Harry Potter — the boy who lived!""**

"I guess we now understand who 'the boy who lived' is" said Frank.

"We also found out that my best friend and his wife are dead, their son is an orphan and im who knows where." Muttered Sirius who was in a depressed mood.

"Who wants to read the next chapter?" asked Remus happily trying to brighten the mood, which earned him glares from everyone in the room.

"I will" said James, taking the book from Remus and he began to read.

"T**he Vanishing Glass"**


End file.
